Blended families. Yours, mine, ours.

In a first-marriage family, the default rules — what the state does if you have no plan — usually approximate what most people would have chosen. In a blended family, the defaults almost never do.

Without a written plan: assets typically flow first to the surviving spouse and then, on their death, to their heirs — which may or may not include your children from a previous relationship. The kids you raised, paid for, and intended to provide for can be disinherited entirely. Not through malice — through silence.

The good news: a properly structured plan can keep the surviving spouse comfortable for life and ensure each parent's assets reach each parent's children. The bad news: it almost never happens by accident.